Oakland Raiders: Worst First Round Draft Picks In Franchise History

Matt Stinchcomb (Eighteenth Overall – 1999)

Coming out of the University of Georgia, Stinchcomb looked to be a solid first round pick. Having been named a first team All American at tackle in both 1997, 1998, the Raiders thought they were getting a solid piece on the offensive line when they used their first round pick on him in 1999.

What the Raiders got in exchange for that first round pick though, was an oft-injured player who couldn’t seem to make the transition from college to the pros well enough to crack – and stay – in the starting line up.

A shoulder injury that required surgery force Stinchcomb to miss his entire rookie season. In 2000, Stinchcomb returned and played in thirteen games – making nine starts – before suffering injuries to his knee and shoulder, which wiped out the latter part of the season.

Following that, the Raiders moved Stinchcomb inside, letting him play guard and center rather than tackle. Injuries would go on to limit Stinchcomb to 36 total games over the next three seasons and ineffectiveness led to him making just eleven starts over that period.

The only season Stinchcomb managed to stay healthy and start every game in a season was in 2004 – with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Over his four years in Silver and Black – five, if you count his “redshirt” rookie season – Stinchcomb played in just 49 games and made just twenty starts. Hardly the sort of resume you’d want to see from a first round pick.

Complications from a surgery led Stinchcomb to officially retire from the game in 2006.

Next: The 1993 Draft